''Psychopsis'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of four known species of

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

s native to northern

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and

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> The genus name is abbreviated ''Pyp.'' in the horticultural trade.Alphabetical List of Standard Abbreviations for Natural and Hybrid Generic Names, Royal Horticultural Society, 2017. https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/plant-registration-forms/orchid-name-abbreviations-list.pdf

Description

''Psychopsis'' are epiphytic orchids with laterally crushed cylindrical pseudobulbs from which two fleshy coriaceous leaves appear apically, in their center two floral wands emerge with large golden yellow flowers with purple spots on bands in sepals and on the lip whose edges are forming folds. ''Psychopsis'' very often grows on the trunks and branches of trees. The flowers look like large butterflies with brightly colored bodies (the lip, a modified petal), very long antennae-like petals, and outspread wing-like dappled yellow and brown sepals. The butterfly orchid is rumored to have started the European "Orchidmania" of the 19th century.

Taxonomy

''Psychopsis'' was formerly included in the massively

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

wastebin genus Wastebasket taxon (also called a wastebin taxon, dustbin taxon or catch-all taxon) is a term used by some taxonomists to refer to a taxon that has the sole purpose of classifying organisms that do not fit anywhere else. They are typically defined ...

" ''

Oncidium ''Oncidium'', abbreviated as Onc. in the horticultural trade, is a genus that contains about 330 species of orchids from the subtribe Oncidiinae of the orchid family (Orchidaceae). As presently conceived (May 2014), it is distributed across much ...

'' within the section ''Glanduligera'', named after the genus's distinctive oil-secreting glands. Orchids in this genus are commonly called butterfly orchids, but some species of other orchid genera are also called thus. The species '' Psychopsiella limminghei'' was once included in ''Psychopsis'' but is now accepted as its own monotypic genus.

Species

Species currently accepted as of October 2020:

References

External links

* * Oncidiinae genera Oncidiinae Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque {{Cymbidieae-stub